Monday, May 21, 2018

Widower's Wood, Chapter 6

Well, dear friends, Golden Week is behind us!  For those of you in Japan, I hope you had a fun holiday, full of great games!  For those of you NOT in Japan, Golden Week is a collection of four national holidays (this week it turned into five since one of the days fell on a Sunday, and we therefore also had Monday off as an exchange).  These include Showa Day (an observation of the previous emperor's birthday), Constitution Memorial Day, Greenery Day (an observation of the Meiji emperor's birthday), and Children's Day (let's be honest... it's Boy's day...).  The Fukuyama Gaming Club wasn't able to hold a meeting, but I did get quite a bit of painting done!  The Ogrun Bokur and the Witch Coven that I got from DTB on a painting exchange are done/ almost done, and looking good if I do say so myself!  Also, the two choir members that I'm working on to bring my choir up to a full unit are done except for their bases and the missing scroll cases.  And... AND!  Good news, look what came in the mail!
Thanks, PP!

That's right!  I got the scroll cases from Privateer Press in the mail the other day, and my choir will be complete before the next meeting of the FGC!  Right behind that, my last Paladin of the Wall is 95% finished, leaving the Champion's horsed and unhorsed versions and the Sanctifier's base as the only models left to paint up (plus two more trade models for DTB) before the tournament in October!  Which brings us to...

Working Hard or Hardly Working
That's right!  I've been hard at work, and considering that one of my pollywogs recently stopped taking his nap to get him ready for the big transition to elementary school, getting painting time is pretty hard!  Luckily, I have an awesome partner, who, while not a gamer, is super understanding of giving me hobby time, and kept the little nipper busy so I could get to work!  So, today, I give you a WIP, the Witch Coven of Garlghast, and a completed model, the Ogrun Bokur.
     WIP, Cryx - the Witch Coven of Garlghast:
Looking good, girls!
I am having so much fun working on these models.  My biggest problem was having too many ideas about what I would do with them.  Really, I could paint up three different versions of these models, and still have left over images in my head.  DTB wanted them pretty close to the studio paint scheme, so I'm trying to reign in most of my creative impulses, but I had to put just a little touch on it.  You know, cause it's me.

     Working Hard,  Mercenary - Ogrun Bokur:

I'm very pleased with this model.  Very very very pleased.  Again, DTB asked for the finished look to mirror the studio paint scheme, but I really like the Merc scheme, so it was pretty easy for me to keep to that.  Anyway, he's looking good, and I hope DTB will like him just as much!

Announcements:
The Fukuyama Gaming Club will be meeting next on June 24 and July 22.
The Japan Open registration is underway, so sign up to save yourself a space in the tournament!  The first team has been registered, so there are only 7 slots open!

And now.... something everyone needs to know about.... BOUNDLESS CHARGE!
Yes!  There are two major tournaments for Warmachine/ Hordes in Japan each year.  The first is of course the Japan Open which occurs in October in Fukuyama.  The other is Boundless Charge! Some of our very favorite people put a lot of work into this tournament every year, and I HIGHLY RECOMMEND it if you're looking for a great time.  Consider it an order from the Kommissar!
So!  Here is all the information you need to get started on registering for this amazing event!
     - Boundless Charge is taking place July 15-16, 2018 in Osaka
     - This is a 32 player OFFICIAL STEAMROLLER EVENT
     - There will be 5 rounds played over the course of 2 days with a yummy dinner after the end of
          the first day.
     - No Divide and Conquer rule.  This means that you can bring 2 lists if you like, but only one is
          necessary.  Also, if you bring two lists, you don't HAVE to play both...only one is acceptable.
     - Armies MUST be assembled, but do not have to be painted. (Front arcs MUST be marked).

If you have any questions, want to register, or just want to check out any extra information, check out the tournament website, here: http://boundlesscharge.com/

And now... the main event.  Along with our tournament practice for the month, we at the Fukuyama Gaming Club took on the next chapter of our continuing campaign, Widower's Wood.  This was the next to last chapter!  Oh noes!  There's only one chapter left!  So before we embark on the soon to be finished adventure, let's take a look at how completely amazing our characters have become!

Agata - Queen of Carnage
     Agata has come a long way since Olo found her almost murdered by Sheldon in the wreckage of her tribeal village.  She's come across a Bone Fetish, Phylactery of Venom, and a Feral Charm, all items that help her become an even more total badass in melee combat.  Her abilities include:
     Crusher, Finisher, Pig Farm, Pigheaded, Combo Strike, Side Step, Waylay, Hold the Line, Meat
     Thresher, Powerhouse, and Dismember.

Skarg - More Voracious than Ever Before
     Skarg... what can I say... Skarg will never change.  And he never needs to.  He has received no items at all, but that has more to do with the fact that Skarg never had a player to control him, but got a bit tossed around between us.  He's finally come to rest in the capable hands of DTB, but that is a recent development, and so he kind of got overlooked every time we got an item.  His abilities are:
     Adjust Aim, Sharpened Spikes, Crackshot, Hunter, Lookout, Survivalist, Marksman, Targeteer,
     Arcing Shot, Quick Shot, Bow Master, Fast Reload.

Vaskis - Savior of the Wood
     Though Olo has taken the lead in the fight to save the Widower's Wood, it's Vaskis who is sort of guiding him through what needs to be done.  The Blackclad is so close to fulfilling his mission of rescuing the swamp.  He got Article 1185 and the Hand of Glory to help bolster his somewhat lacking melee skills, as he is the bait character, leading enemies into range of the two fighters.  His abilities are:
     Aegis, Blood Trade, Cloak of the Predator, Stay Death, Affliction, Raging Wind, Storm Sorcerer
     Blood Boon, Harvest, Bleed, Sunhammer, Chain Lightening.

Olo - Hero of Widower's Wood
     They say that the best leaders don't want to lead, but take up the role when they hear the call.  This is Olo.  A humble croak hunter, he has become the defacto leader of this group of heroes, and he still wants to try to help the Gatorman Witch Doctor that started all this mess if he can!  What a great guy!  He picked up an Oroboros Dagger, Improvised Traps, and a Fettershot Rifle, as well as taking the first steps down the Scion's Path...  His abilities are:
     Ambush, Wily, Outrider, Extra Turtle Shells, Backstab, Corrosive Slime, Trailblazer, Bounding
     Leap, Acrobatics, Vitriolic Fire, Poison Gland, Animosity: Gatorman.

And with that, we're ready to dive in to this exciting chapter!

The Story So Far:
It's him.... Rasheldonak at last!
As our last session ended, our valiant heroes had stopped two Mist Speakers from completing a ritual to absorb more power to help Sheldon, the power crazed Witch Doctor who is trying to subjugate the whole of the Widower's Wood.  The amazing tag team of Skarg and Agata took down both of the Mist Speakers and then turned around and destroyed the Orgoth monument that was the focus of the ritual.  Following the trail the Mist Speakers left, finally....FINALLY the team has found Sheldon.  Several Bokors and Mist Speakers are surrounding another Orgoth Monument, and casting a ritual to awaken a Deathless trapped by the Blackclads beneath the stone.  So here is Sheldon's big plan... or should we say, Sheldon is the Deathless' plan... because I'm betting the poor Witch Doctor is actually being controlled by the timeless evil he's helping.  Well, time to stop an undying evil from taking over everything!  Agata, Olo, Skarg and Vaskis....GO!!

Chapter 6, Sheldon Dun: 

Go team, go!
Yeesh, okay, this looks a little rough!  So, the heroes start all the way to the right, and down at the left side of the board is a broken stone monument with two Bokor and two Mist Speakers doing the ritual, and below them is Rasheldonak in the ritual circle.  There are also two blue and two red bone piles... and you can't enter or attack someone in the ritual circle while a bone pile of the color priority for the round is in play.... ugh!  Okay, step one, destroy bone piles.  Rasheldonak is controlling the ritual to bring out Lord Thandul!  On his activation, we roll a die, adding plus 1 for each Bokor and Mist Speaker still in play.  If the roll and the addition are 4-7, 1 XP is added to the clock tile... if it's 8 or more, 2 XP are added.  Also, if an Impending Doom event card is drawn, we also roll a die, and the rolled number is added to the Clock in XP.  Once there are 10 XP on the clock, the DEATHLESS SPAWNS!!!  Dun-dun-DUN!!
Villain Reserves
Oh man!  Look at all the villians we are going to face this game!  Plus, next to Sheldon is a Tatzelwurm... that's right... the Wurm we didn't save a few chapters ago!  If we had managed to save it, the Wurm in this chapter would be less powerful.  Alas our failure!
So, to win this chapter, we have to incapacitate Rasheldonak and break the ritual circle.  Simple, right?

Round One - IMPENDING DOOM!!!  NOoooooooooo!  Luckily we rolled a one, so only one XP got put on the clock, but it's not the way we wanted to start out!  Olo charged the Trog right in front of him, and after he killed it used Quick Work to take a shot at a Gatorman, but didn't do any damage.  Skarg Hoofed It to move 2 spaces, but in his villian action, two Trogs charged Olo!  Luckily, Olo laid some Improvised Traps, and trapped both of them!  Agata decided to start in a whirl of action and charged the Viper Tatzelwurm in front of herself, side stepped into a Trog, and then Overtook straight into the last occupied Trog square.  To end the round, Sheldon does some oogie boogies, and 2 more XP go on the clock...
Olo in trouble already!
Next round... the Boss event card!  Man!  We can't catch a break!  Another XP goes onto the Clock!  Olo broke away from Gator central and threw a Vitriolic Fire Gourd at the red Mist Speaker, killing it!  Go, Olo!  Alas, his villian action was BAD, sending two Gators at Vaskis for 2 damage, and a Trog at Agata who missed.  Vaskis left combat and shot a spell back at the Gator who hit him, killing it as well!  Finally, Vaskis gets his magic to work!  And following the trend was another bad villian action brought Skarg down to his last two wounds.  Skarg decided to take matters into his own hands, killing both Gators with shots from his bow, while Agata killed both Trogs and used her Overtake to move onto the bone pile, ready to destroy it next turn.  In her own villain turn, the Warbeast Tatzelwurm protecting Sheldon was going to charge Agata, but she used her feat card Staredown, terrifying it so much that it changed it's mind.  Sheldon continued the ritual, putting another XP on the clock.
It's my arrow IN YOUR FACE!!
Another Boss card... another XP.  Great... This round was a bunch of tries and fails.  Olo tried to punch the Bone Pile he was on... no go.  Vaskis charged a Gatorman, missed.  Skarg did make his move on a Trog and Gatorman that were harassing Olo and finished them off, so that was good!  And Agata did manage to break up the bone pile that she was standing on!  One down, three to go!  The next round things started turning around for us... Vaskis took a shot at the surviving Mist Speaker, dealing one damage to it.  Skarg moved onto the bone pile and missed his attack on it, but spent a re-roll to finish destroying it.  Two piles to go!

Keep the ritual going no matter what!
The next event card is one of our favorites... Buzzard Beetle Swarms!  All the heroes came out alright, but two Gators went down to the feisty little buggers!  Olo moved closer to the Orgoth Monument and threw two Vitriolic Fire Gourds on one of the Bokors, killing it!  Man, Olo is getting work done today!  Vaskis, upset that everyone else was killing all the big baddies, moved over one space, took another shot at the Mist Speaker that survived him last time, and killed it!  Wow, good work everyone!  One Bokor left to make our lives troubled! Agata managed to turn one of the Trogs that was stuck in her square into fish sticks, which she promptly snacked upon to heal 2 points, but one Trog avoided destruction... sadly, Sheldon's turn brought up the total on the clock to 9!  We HAVE to kill Sheldon or get him out of the Ritual Circle or else the Deathless will come out next turn!

Yummy fish snacks!
Olo used his Backstab ability to clear out 2 Trogs, freeing up Skarg for his turn.  Vaskis broke up the last bone pile, and we can finally beat up on Sheldon!  Skarg took two shots at Sheldon, but the Gatorman was pretty tough, and only took 2 damage.  Agata then charged Sheldon and did 4 damage with 2 attacks, and then used a feat card to Throw Sheldon out of the circle with only 2 health left!  Yeah!  No ritual this turn, unless the Villian Action turns against us!  Which... of course it does.  Sadly, it starts by activating Sheldon, who runs back into the circle.  I thought we were out of luck, but Vaskis had a trick up this black sleeves!  He put Watcher on Agata, letting her take an attack against an enemy that moves into her square, so as Sheldon entered the square, she took a swing and.... KILLED HIM!!!  Oh my gosh, it was a magic moment!  No Sheldon, no ritual, NO DEATHLESS!!!  How did we luck out of this one??  Amazing!  Now all we have to do is break the ritual circle and we'll win the chapter!

Stay down, ya Gator fool!
So!  Round 7!  Event card... Impending Doom... no.  No no no.  Nonononononononono!  How is this possible!  Damn!  So, the final XP goes onto the clock, and the Deathless spawns on the Orgoth monument.  We were so close to no super baddie, and we tripped at the finish line!  Olo moved up and killed the Trog standing on the circle.  Then Vaskis walked into the circle and with his amazing intelligence score, destroys the circle. Game Over!

Conclusion:
Hey, high fives all round?
Victory for us!  Yay!  Almost a super victory, but not quite.  This was a super team play, though... it could never have worked without all of the characters with our super coordination!  One chapter left to go (I wonder what would have happened if we didn't summon the Deathless!)  I'm sure going to miss this game when it's over!  13 XP to all of us, and we might as well spend it all since next time is the last!

To finish up today's post, we'll bring you the next in our continuing segment, a look inside the Mardi Gras Gators!

Gallery:
There is no reason more that I wish I could play more than once a month than that I now cannot spare the time to play games with my Gatorman Minions army.  I love playing these gators, and I love painting them.   But right now, I only have 12 times to get two army lists ready for a tournament, and I can't spare the time!  Sigh!  One day, right?

Today, I present to you the first of the huge based models that I ever attempted, the Sacral Vault!
The Orgoth soul sucking machine
Phew!  This thing was a BEAST to paint, but I loved it!  It was so much fun, and it has so much detail that I never felt bored while it was in progress.  Piles of bones and skulls, candle bunches, vines and dead gator bits cover practically every flat space across the model!  Now, I'm pretty proud of my stone work... I use it on the bases of my Menoth army, so I felt pretty confident going into this model because of that.  What I was most concerned with was the glowing, spectral faces in the central pillar.  I wanted them to have a supernatural glow, but I've never tried that effect before... and I didn't want it to be the greenish glow of the studio paint scheme, because that kind of thing seems a little Cryxish to me...
Glowy faces = evil, right?
Purple was of course, a natural decision since it's one of the Mardi Gras colors, and it doesn't have associations with any other faction (okay, I painted this before the Grymkin even got teased, so it NOW has another connection, but it didn't at the time!).

Hey man... you okay?
Poor schmuck.  That's what he gets for adventuring around Gatorman infested swamps.  I tried to paint his pants a little vaguely, as though whatever color they were is now grimy and swamped... was he a mercenary in olive green?  5th border legion?  Cygnar blue that saw too much use?  I guess we'll never know!

Details galore
Privateer Press does such a great job with detail work.  These "decorations" were fun to paint too... One of the first things that I fully painted on my own waaaaay back in the day was a Norse Blood Bowl team (Games Workshop).  And those guys used a LOT of bone work... I've always loved doing it, and I think I'm pretty alright at it.. and this vault has soooo much bone!

Push, boys, push!
I've mentioned before that I love doing interesting things with bases.  For this model, I decided that even these two burly gators could not push that giant stone monument through the swamps without it getting stuck in the mud... so I decided to create a hastily thrown down bridge that they slap down in front of Vault as they march to war.

Popsicle sticks at their finest
I wanted to keep it kind of rough, because they aren't making a bridge to last the ages, just something to support the weight of the stone as it moved to the next battlefield... so, I intentionally made sure that they were not nice and straight, but roughly hewn and not evenly spaced.

We're getting a-head.... see what I did there?
No sacrificial alter is complete without a bloodthirsty, cold blooded priest cutting the heads or hearts out of victims, and this one is using the blood to power the amazing powers of the Sacral Vault.

Well, that's it!  I hope that you enjoyed the Sacral Vault!  I enjoyed painting and playing it!  The next meeting of the Fukuyama Gaming Club will be on June 24th!  See you then!




Tuesday, May 1, 2018

AAR - Cygnus Recon

Welcome again, everybody!  April 1st was a busy busy day, let me tell you!  April Fools Day combined with Easter, and me with a couple of pollywogs led to an interesting holiday (did anyone else wrap up grapes like chocolate eggs?  Cause it's pretty funny!).  But on that same day, the Fukuyama Gaming Club held its April meeting!  Luckily we managed to get through several rounds of Warmachine/ Hordes and another chapter of Widower's Wood without anyone trying to prank anyone else.  Phew!  A win, in my opinion!  Sadly, we did have a little happening that I would like to take this moment to talk about for the good of the wargaming community at large.  Let me explain...

In an effort to help me complete my lists for the upcoming Japan Open Team Championship Tournament, DTB found someone on ebay selling two Choir members for my Protectorate of Menoth army, since I only needed two figures and therefore didn't want to buy a whole new unit and get stuck with three extra models.  The models were being sold as is, out of package (no big deal), and there was a picture of them, much like this (but not yet painted).
Looks okay, right?
At the April meeting, DTB handed them over to me, but there was something wrong... Something.  Very.  Wrong.  Here... a view from behind...
Hmmm?  What the heck?
Now, those of you who don't play Menoth may not notice, but as you can see, there is a little dimple in their backs... Choir members do NOT go unprepared into the fires of battle, you see, but carry scrolls of prayers to Menoth in cases hanging from straps just above their butts.  Like this guy here, from my already painted unit.
Tada!  Scroll Case to the rescue!

And this brings us to my new segment...

Don't Be A Jerk
Seriously, man.  Don't be a jerk.  For the good of the whole wargaming community, just don't.  From players throwing hissy fits because they start losing a game to sellers trying to be sneaky to make a few extra bucks, the jerks really can put a damper on a good gaming experience.  Could it be an innocent mistake?  Yeah, I guess it could be, but who are we kidding?  That seller on ebay KNEW that the models were missing pieces, and he tried to cover it up.  Ergo, "sold as is" without mention of missing bits or a photo of the back of the models, where there are clearly parts missing.  Missing parts is not as big a pain in the butunkus as it used to be, so for the right price I may have bought these anyway.  That's not the problem.  The problem was this dude was being intentionally devious, and that's not cool.  Remember, kids...it's just a game, and we're all trying to have a good time, so think before you decide to ruin it for everyone.

Anyway... parts have been ordered from the Privateer Press Online Store, and should be here soon, and then my Choir will be in good shape.  Painting on them is really coming along!  They should be finished by the next meeting of the Fukuyama Gaming Club.  (Actually, they're finished now!  Surprise!)

Announcements:
The Fukuyama Gaming Club will be meeting on May 20, June , and July!  Come join us!
The Japan Open Team Championship is still accepting registration for the upcoming Tournament in October!  Sign up as a 3-person team, or as a single, and we will help place you in a team!

All this brings us to today's battle!  BATTLE!!!  Between the fighting Greenies of Leland's Cygnar army and Kommissar Koala's (that me!) Interdiction of the Dawn Protectorate army!  Leland has done a really good job of getting his models painted up, and they're looking pretty good!  The last couple of games he's been running the same Heavy Metal theme force list, which is a great idea for a new player to really get a feel for how the army works together.  I seem to be in the habit of switching back and forth on my two armies to get some good practice in, so today I decided to run with my Testament of Menoth list since Tristan had a chance in March... and I was still a little mad at Tristan for performing sooooo badly last game, hahaha!  We rolled the Recon II senerio, but OH NO!!!  We forgot to bring any zone markers!!  Thank goodness I had these little brackets from waaaaay back in the day, so we tried pretty hard to make to rectangular zones, and agreed to be pretty lenient when it came to "is that guy in the zone or not" moments.

Army List, Cygnar:
Stryker Heavy Metal, reporting for duty!
    Warcaster - Stryker 1
          Lancer
          Ironclad X2
          Ol' Rowdy
     Trencher Journeyman Warcaster
          Charger X2
     Alison Jakes
          Cyclone
     Sword Knights (Maximum)
     Runewood
     Field Mechanicks (Minimum)

This is a Heavy Metal theme force, so Leland is going to get +2 to his deployment zone, and his solos and mechanics gain Reposition 3".

Army List, Protectorate of Menoth:
Peasants and Paladins
     Warcaster - Testament of Menoth
          Avatar of Menoth
          Reckoner
          Sanctifier
     Choir of Menoth (Maximum)
     Idrian Skirmishers
          -Officer and Guide
     Deliverer Skyhammers (Maximum)
     Paladin X3
     Champion of the Order of the Wall
     Dartan Vilmon

This list is a Faithful Masses theme force, so all my heavy warjacks will gain Hand of Vengence (if a friendly warrior model dies within 5" of a heavy jack, it gets +2 Melee and  Damage rolls for one turn, and I can put a wall template anywhere within 20 inches of my deployment zone.  Also, with Dartan in the list, all Paladin solos will gain Righteous Vengeance (if a friendly models dies in 5" of the Paladin, they get a 3" move and a melee attack in my maintenance phase.

Setup, Cygnar:

Ready to go!
Ohhh, those brackets are going to be hard to keep in place!  Anyway, Leland set up at 9" due to his benefit from the theme force.  He had Runewood and the Sword Knights all the way to the left, with the Lancer next to them.  Then came the Trencher Journeyman Warcaster with his two Chargers.  Next, the light colored Ironclad (Hulky), Ol' Rowdy, and the Dark Ironclad (Rusty), and the last on the skirmish line, Jakes and her Cyclone.  Behind the line, Stryker set up behind Rowdy, and the Mechanics unit spread out next to him.

Setup, Protectorate:

Wide deployment...
Before setting up any of my models, I set out my wall between me and the left side zone, hoping my Deliverers would be able to use it for a little protection to shoot their rockets off from.  Then, set up time!  The Deliverers went behind the wall, with the Reckoner in the middle.  Dartan, one of the Paladins and Tom took the center, with the Sanctifier, the other two Paladins and the Champion of the Wall finishing off the line.  Behind the Champion I put the Avatar, and the Choir spread out behind to give their chants to all the 'jacks.  Then, since Cygnar had no Advanced Deployment this game, I went ahead and set my Idrians next to my objective on the right side to balance out my firepower with the Deliverers on the left, and made the Sword Knights their prey.

Our Story:
Ever since his near death during the invasion of Sul, Stryker has harbored an almost obsessive hatred of the Protectorate.  Returning from a mission along the Dragon Tooth River, the red headed warcaster decided to take a detour and do some reconnaissance on the border of Protectorate held lands.  However, the Harbringer had seen his deviousness and sent her protector, the Testament of Menoth, to confront him and eject him from the holy lands.

Round 1, Cygnar:

Into the cloud with you!
Jakes moved forward and put Energizer on the Cyclone to edge it forward just a bit.  Rusty (the dark Ironclad) ran to the edge of the zone, and Rowdy ran up next to him.  Stryker moved into the cloud (COWARD!) and cast Snipe on the Cyclone.  He then channeled Blur onto the Sword Knights through the Lancer, and Arcane Shield onto the Lancer itself through its own arc node.  The Cyclone moved up and put down 2 covering fire templates.  The Lancer ran until just outside of the zone.  Runewood gave the March order to the Sword Knights, giving them Pathfinder before moving up behind the forest.  The Sword Knights then ran up behind the Lancer.  The Black Charger ran to the back of the forest, while the White Charger ran next to the Sword Knights.  The Trencher Journeyman walked up and used Dig In.  To finish up, the Mechanics ran up behind the line.

Round 1, Protectorate:

Wow, Menoth can shoot!
The Idrians kicked things off by moving up and using 3 combined ranged attacks to kill off 3 Sword Knights (wow, good job guys!) before Repositioning back 3".  The Deliverers moved up behind the created wall and did one 6 man CRA on Rusty for 6 damage.  Two more CRA's went out, but missed.  The Champion ran forward around the lake.  Dartan and the Paladins moved up and used Stone and Mortar Stance to gain additional ARM against the bullet barrage that's certainly coming.  The Sanctifier and the Reckoner ran forward as the Choir came behind them and prayed for Passage on them to make all the 'jacks untargetable by ranged attacks.  TOM moved forward and cast Cloak of Ash on the Idrians.


Round 2, Cygnar:
And into the cloud again!
The Mechanics, showing bravery in the face of danger, moved forward and healed Rusty for 3 points, then repostitioned back 3".  The Cyclone took 4 shots at the Deliverers, managing to kill 2 of them.  Jakes then moved into B2B with her lovely 'jack and cast Sidekick.  Striker moved behind the gobbers from the Mechanic team and arced an Arcane Blast into the Idrians, killing two, and triggering Hand of Vengence on the Avatar and the Sanctifier and ALSO triggering Righteous Fury on the two Paladins on the right (sadly, they look like they will not get to use the extra 3" move this gives them, since they are BLOCKED IN BY THEIR OWN FRIENDS!!!  Yeesh!  I have got to stop blocking in my own models, I do it literally ALL THE TIME!!!  Runewood moved behind the Sword Knights and made sure they still have their Pathfinder.  The Sword Knights then bravely ran into the cloud....uh, okay... going straight into the charge range of the Idrians who have them as Prey?  Alright!  Come at me, man!  The Trencher Journeyman took the opportunity to move toward the forest, putting Fire Group on his Chargers.  The White Charger then move laterally toward the forest, shooting at an Idrian but missing twice!  The Lancer edged forward a little, looks like he might be getting into position for something devious next round!  The Black Charger moved into the zone and shot the Champion 2 times dealing 6 damage!  Ouch!  Hulky (the light Ironclad) moved around the forest, Rowdy ran for the flag, and Rusty ran up next to Rowdy.


Round 2, Protectorate:
Charge!
The Idrians pressed forward, jamming up the Sword Knights and making sure that they wern't going anywhere, while managing to kill off 2 of them in the charge.  The Deliverers killed off the entire Mechanic crew with 3 seperate CRA's and also put 3 damage on Stryker!  Woot!  I'm coming for you, Red!  The Paladin paling around with Dartan ran forward into the forest, and Dartan followed him, much to the ammusement of Leland... don't worry, Leland, you'll see what's coming soon enough!  Sadly, Rowdy has Counter Charge, and when Dartan finished his movement 5" from him, it triggered, and he unceremoniously squished the High Paladin into goo... oops!  Forgot Rowdy had that!  That's a punishing blow, but it doesn't ruin my plans!  The other two Paladins also ran up, one of the getting into the forest too.  The Champion ran into B2B with the flag, and even though he's surrounded by some heavy hitters, I think he'll be okay.  The Avatar moved up and used Menoth's Gaze to keep everything in 8" of him from being able to move away, hopefully keeping a lot of the models that I have painstakinly positioned safe.  The Sanctifier decided he didn't need to wait for the Choir to charge Rowdy... if only he had waited!  He did manage to do moderate damage, but he could have really put the hurt on!  Then, the Reckoner got super excited and forgot to wait for the Choir ALSO!!!  Do'h!!!  He did a little tiny bit more damage, but if those two idiots had waited for their Choir to boost them, they could have taken Rowdy out!  Rolling their eyes, the Choir picked up their robes and ran to catch up with their wayward charges... TOM moved forward and brought back a Deliverer in B2B with Rusty and also brought back an Idrian in the back of the circle of death that the Sword Knights got themselves into.


Round 3, Cygnar:
Leland by now had realized his danger... I think I'm pretty well set up for TOM's feat turn next round, where all my models in his control range will become incorporeal!  That means that he's looking at 2, possibly 3 (one horsey) Paladin charges, as well as possibly one or two heavy warjacks closing in on Stryker.  He's got to kill off all the things I got in charge range or risk an assasination run.  So!  To start, he let all upkeep spells except Sidekick go down.  The Black Charger shot at the purple Paladin and killed him.  The Lancer then unhorsed the Champion, but being a dragoon solo, he was replaced by his unmounted self, so Leland has to try to kill him again!  Jakes moved forward and shot one Deliverer.  Her Cyclone then wound up, getting 3 attacks and killing 2 Choir members and 1 Deliverer.  Stryker edged up and used his FEAT!!!  Everything is going to be super hard to kill next turn, but I think I'm still in a good position.  Rusty left combat (taking no damage from the free strike) and charged the Reckoner, and BEAT IT UP!  Holy smokes!  That was a lot of damage!  Rowdy then helped finish off the Reckoner... ugh!  The Trencher Journeyman shot the Champion for 3 damage, but he's still up and running!  The White Charger shot 2 Idrians, while Runewood killed another.  Hulky jiggered forward just a little.  The Sword Knights moved around trying to break free of the Idrians (one died from a free strike as he left combat), managing to kill 2 Idrians.

And with that, the game clock ran out.

Conclusion:
Draw!

Stryker, overconfident in the back field, was suddenly surprised as the Testament's forces began to close in on his position... suddenly, with the cold realization that Menoth's troops had begun to take the upper hand, Stryker signaled his troops to withdraw, and return to Cygnarian soil. Silently, the Testament watched them leave.  The Harbinger had told him it would be so, and so it was.  Glory to Menoth.

Well, that makes this game a draw!  But I was in a super good position for the next turn.  With Stryker's feat up I'm not sure that I could have killed him in the feat turn, but I could have really put pressure on him!  I'm pretty pleased with how I did except for letting the heavy 'jacks getting away from the Choir.  I did a good job remembering Hand of Vengence on my heavies and Righteous Fury on my Paladins, so that's a good improvement!  Thank you for the game, Leland!  I had a good time!

One thing I did notice was that I forgot to take a lot of up close photos this game!  Oh noes!  To make up for it, here is a little show of my Mardi Gras Gators!  Enjoy!

Gallery:
Today we'll take a look at one of the models from my Mardi Gras themed Gatorman Minions force.  Sorry, no Farrow for this Commissar, it's gators all the way.  I went to school in New Orleans long long (oh my god was it THAT long ago) before the Minions forces were released.  When it came time to chose my Hordes faction, I was debating between a Circle of Oroboros (fiercely protested by DTB, who was absolutely against my using Circle for some reason...) and Skorne.  But just before I had made up my mind (let's be honest, it was going to be Circle, if for no other reason than to spite DTB, HAHA!) the Minions forces were released, and all debate was DONE!

First up in this new feature, my favorite of the Gatormen warlocks... Maelok the Dreadbound!
Zombie Gators??!!  Heck yeah!
Sorry... not the best picture quality, but you get the idea... so, we have here a Dreadbound created by Caliban.  This is a sort of zombie of a powerful bokor that keeps his powerful mojo, but is completely dominated by the bokor that created him.  So!  The rotting corpse of a magical gator?  Awesome!

I gave the gator hide a little bit of a more light finish than most of the gator skins that I've been working on to kind show that the skin is fading the longer Maelok has been dead... also, the inner flesh that is visible through the cuts and tears in his skin are mostly red/pink, since the skin does flap back to protect it from the ravages of decay, but the open flesh around his mouth I wanted to be a bit darker, like rot had really started to set in and the meat "had turned."

He's wearing a Bog Trog skin loincloth, haha!  No wonder the Trogs hate the Gatormen!

Uh, Maelok?  You okay there, buddy?
Man, those candles were a pain in the booty!  I wasn't sure how to keep them looking like they were actually lit and causing a glow, but it worked out okayish.  I am super proud of my bone work, however... and I think the fleshy bits came out alright, too!  Again, visible flesh on the outside is darker due to the rotting taking a firmer hold, fleshy bits on the inside are more reddish as they are more protected from decay.
Fell magic makes footsteps glow!
And a final look at the base work... naturally, I'm trying to do a swamp base for them, so I have some muddy ground and a LOT of water effect to try and make it look like Maelok is trudging trough the bayou.  I may have mentioned before, while I love the basic "dirt and small rocks" bases that most people use for their armies, I have never liked it for myself... I really enjoy making unique bases for my armies in any game (my Warhammer fantasy army had snow bases!)  For most of my Gator army, the base will end there, but Maelok is an undead fiend risen from the grave by fell magics, and so I put a little "zombie glow" around his foot in the water... all the undead in this army will use it!  So, Swamp Shamblers, the Blind Walker, and a few of the new models that I don't have yet are going to use this basing techinique... an easy way for my opponents to know what models are undead, and which are just COLD BLOODED!!!  Mua-haha!

That's it for today!  Join us, May 20, for some Fukuyama Gaming Club shenanigans!